State & Local News: August 21

Legislation & Policies

California

Assembly Bill 60, which would grant driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, was heard on August 19 before the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill was referred to the Appropriations Committee “suspense file.” The so-called “suspense file” is a method by which both fiscal committees in each house automatically hold bills with a dollar value in excess of $150,000 so that each bill may be prioritized on their fiscal and policy merit. Then, on one single day, all fiscal bills are dispensed with and are either passed out of committee and sent to the floor for vote, or held due to cost or policy concerns, which ultimately renders the bill “dead” for the year.

Assembly Bill 35, which grants ID cards and unemployment benefits to DACA recipients, was read second time in the Senate and ordered to third reading on August 13.

Assembly Bill 263, which prohibits an employer from discharging an employee or any manner discriminating, retaliating, or taking an adverse action against an employee because the employee updates or attempts to update his or her personal information, unless the changes are directly related to the skill set, qualifications, or knowledge required for the job, was also placed on the suspense file in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 19.

Senate Bill 141, which grants in-state tuition and financial aid eligibility to any U.S. citizen child whose parent(s) were deported or voluntarily departed the U.S. and 1) moved abroad; 2) lived in California immediately before moving abroad; 3) attended an elementary or secondary school in California for 3 or more years; 4) is enrolled for their 1st year at a California college or university; and 5) demonstrates a financial need for the exemption, was referred to the Appropriations Committee “suspense file” on August 14.

Senate Bill 666, which prohibits any member of the state bar from reporting, or threatening to report, the immigration status of a witness or party to a civil or administrative action, or his or her family member, to a federal, state, or local agency because the witness or party exercises a right related to his or her employment had a hearing scheduled on August 21.

Special Order 7 (Los Angeles PD)

A state judge invalidated Special Order 7 on August 14. Special Order 7, approved in April 2012 by the Los Angeles Police Department, allowed vehicles to be released to unlicensed drivers without a 30-day impound as required by state law if they had proof of insurance, valid identification and no previous citations for unlicensed driving, and if a licensed driver was available to drive the vehicle away.

Louisiana

The New Orleans sheriff has agreed to stop voluntarily holding detainees for ICE unless those detainees are charged with certain violent crimes, and he will no longer allow ICE to conduct civil immigration status investigations at the city jail.

The policy is the result of settlement of a civil lawsuit filed in 2011 on behalf of two men who said they were held illegally in the Orleans Parish Prison for months after arrests on misdemeanors — without due process and well beyond a 48-hour time period specified in the ICE request for detainment.

North Carolina

House Bill 786, an omnibus immigration-related bill, was vetoed by the Gov. Pat McCory (R) last week. By law, Gov. McCrory has to reconvene the legislature to consider veto overrides within 40 days of adjournment, which falls on Sept. 4. The General Assembly will have to meet then or inform the governor the session would be unnecessary, which requires they send him a petition signed by a majority of both chambers by Aug. 25. If they do that, the legislature could also wait until next year’s short session to take up the override.

The bill overwhelmingly passed the NC House (85-28; 75%) and Senate (43-1; 98%). A veto override requires yes votes from three-fifths (60%) of the members present in each chamber.

Ohio

The Board of Regents has decided to grant DACA students in-state tuition rates.

Litigation

Frederick County commissioners Frederick County commissioners passed a resolution Thursday in support of the sheriff’s department, said commission President Blaine Young, who wants to make his County Maryland’s “most unfriendly to illegal aliens.” He vowed that county officials would continue to enforce immigration laws to the extent they can. “If the federal government thinks we’re doing it incorrectly, the federal government can take our credentials any time they want,” Young said.

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